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Let me make things simple

...that's what I do: I design and write everyday information - such as forms, instructions and letters - to make it easy for people to understand so it's better at its job

Information design projects

Forms | AIG life insurance application form

Project to redesign the form AIG uses to collect information from customers applying for life insurance

Letters | NHS appointment letter

redesigned and rewritten NHS appointment letter with clear language and logical structure

Project to rewrite and redesign an appointment letter sent out by the local NHS trust.

Read: NHS appointment letter

Latest entries

When less is just more work

The saying goes (and it’s especially relevant to what I do) that ‘less is more’, and in most cases this is true. After all, a lot of what I get paid to do is delete what’s not necessary to get it down to a manageable amount of information.

Too often though, the less is more mantra is taken too literally and ends up making things more difficult than they need to be…

Read: When less is just more work

Guest blog for the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

As businesses, we’re constantly taking time to understand our customers but how often do we take time to check our customers understand us.
I’m not talking about our brand values or anything deep and meaningful like that. I’m talking about the everyday pieces of information we use to tell customers about everyday matters: instructions to tell [...]

Read: Guest blog for the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

The shortest route isn’t necessarily the simplest one

When providing people with directions, whether written or on a map, the temptation is to give them a route that’s used by people who make the same journey regularly.
When we make a journey regularly though, we often don’t take the simplest route, that being defined as the one that involves the least number of decisions about what [...]

Read: The shortest route isn’t necessarily the simplest one

I’ll have 125ml of the house red please…

So, here’s a recent idea from a politician: to change labelling on alcohol to replace Units with Centilitres.
I’d be interested to know your thoughts. In the meantime, here’s why I think it’s a bad idea.
Very simply, when was the last time you ordered ‘125ml of the house red’ or ‘275ml of Becks (other beers available)’? [...]

Read: I’ll have 125ml of the house red please…

Barclays PINsentry – is it really a simpler way to login?

A look at Barclays bank’s new system for logging in to their online banking, and whether it’s any simpler than the previous system

Read: Barclays PINsentry – is it really a simpler way to login?